Battleship Potemkin

Battleship Potemkin ( Russian : Броненосец “Потёмкин” , Bronenosets Potyomkin ), produced as Battleship Potyomkin , is a 1925 Soviet silent film directed by Sergei Eisensteinand produced by Mosfilm . It presents a version of the mutiny that occurred in 1905 when the crew of the Russian Potemkin battleship rebelled against their officers.

Battleship Potemkin was named the greatest film of all time at the Brussels World’s Fair in 1958. [1] [2] [3]

Plot

The film is set in June 1905; The Protagonists of the movie are the members of the crew of the Potemkin , a battleship of the Imperial Russian Navy ‘s Black Sea Fleet . Eisenstein divided the plot into five acts, each with its own title:

Act I: Men and Maggots

The scene begins with two sailors, Matyushenko and Vakulinchuk, discussing the need for the crew of the Potemkin to support the revolution taking place within Russia. While the Potemkinis anchored off the island of Tendra, off-duty sailors are sleeping in their bunks. As an officer inspects the quarters, he stumbles and takes out his aggression on a sleeping sailor. The ruckus causes Vakulinchuk to awake, and he gives a speech to the men as they come to. Vakulinchuk says, “Comrades! The time has come when we too must speak out.” Why wait? All of Russia has risen! Are we to be the last? ” The scene cuts to morning above deck, where sailors are remarking on the poor quality of the meat for the crew. The meat seems to be covered and covered in worms, and the sailors say that “even a dog would not eat this!” The ship’s doctor, Smirnov, is called to inspect the meat by the captain. Rather than worms, the doctor says that the insects are maggots, and they can be washed off prior to cooking. The sailors further complain about the poor quality of rations, but the doctor declares the meat edible and ends the discussion. Senior officer Giliarovsky forces the sailors still looking at the meat to leave the area, and the cook begins to prepare for it. The crew refuses to eat the borscht, instead choosing bread and water, and canned goods. While cleaning dishes, one of the sailors sees an inscription on a daily basis. After considering the meaning of this phrase, the sailor smashes the plate and the scene ends. and the cook begins to prepare borscht but he too questions the quality of the meat. The crew refuses to eat the borscht, instead choosing bread and water, and canned goods. While cleaning dishes, one of the sailors sees an inscription on a daily basis. After considering the meaning of this phrase, the sailor smashes the plate and the scene ends. and the cook begins to prepare borscht but he too questions the quality of the meat. The crew refuses to eat the borscht, instead choosing bread and water, and canned goods. While cleaning dishes, one of the sailors sees an inscription on a daily basis. After considering the meaning of this phrase, the sailor smashes the plate and the scene ends.

Act II: Drama on the Deck

All those who refuse the meat are judged guilty of insubordination and are brought to the fore-deck where they receive religious last rites. The sailors are obliged to kneel and a canvas cover is thrown over the stairs to the stairs. The First Officer gives the order to the fire, but in response to Vakulinchuk’s pleas the sailors in the firing squad down their rifles and the uprising begins. The sailors overwhelm the outnumbered officers and take control of the ship. The officers are thrown overboard, the ship’s priest is dragged out of hiding, and finally the doctor is thrown into the ocean as ‘food for the fish’.

Act III: Dead Man Calls for Justice

The mutiny is successful but Vakulinchuk, the charismatic leader of the rebels, is killed. The Potemkin arrives at the port of Odessa. Vakulinchuk’s body is taken ashore and recorded publicly by his companions in a book with a sign on his chest that says “For a spoonful of soup” (Изъ-за ложки борща). The citizens of Odessa, saddened yet empowered by Vakulinchuk’s sacrifice, are soon to be frenzied against the Tsar and his government by sympathizers. A man with the government tries to turn the citizens’ fury against the Jews, but he is quickly shouted down and beaten by the people. The sailors gather to make a final farewell and praise Vakulinchuk as a hero. The people of Odessa welcome the sailors, but they attract the police as they mobilize against the government.

Act IV: The Odessa Steps

The best-known sequence of the film is set on the Odessa steps, connecting the waterfront with the central city. The citizenry of Odessa to take Their ships and boats, sailing out to the Potemkin to show Their Support to the sailors and donate supplies, while a crowd of others gathers at the Odessa steps to witness the happenings and cheer on the rebels. Suddenly, however, a detachment of dismounted Cossacksa battle of civilians and women with children, and the beginning of the future Every now and again, the soldiers halt to fire in the crowd before continuing their impersonal, machine-like assault, ignoring the people’s pleas for humanity and understanding. Meanwhile, government cavalry attacking the fleeing crowd at the bottom of the steps, falling down many of those who survive the dismounted assault. Brief sequences show among the people fleeing or falling, a baby’s pram rolling down the steps, a woman shot in the face, broken shows and the high boots of the soldiers moving in unison.

In retaliation, the sailors of the Potemkin decide to fire on a military headquarters with the guns of the battleship. Meanwhile, there is news that a squadron of loyal warships is coming to the heart of Potemkin .

Act V: One Against All

The sailors of the Potemkin decide to go to the port of Odessa to face the fleet of the tsar. Just When the battle Seems inevitable, the sailors of the formerly loyal ships incredibly refused to open fire on Their comrades, externalizing with songs and shouts of joy Their solidarity with the mutineers and Allowing Them to pass unmolested through the fleet, waving the red flag .

Cast

Aleksandr Antonov as Grigory Vakulinchuk (Bolshevik sailor)

Vladimir Barsky as Commander Golikov

Grigori Aleksandrov as Chief Officer Giliarovsky

I. Bobrov as Young sailor flogged while sleeping

Mikhail Gomorov as Militant sailor

Aleksandr Levshin as Petty Officer

N. Poltavseva as Woman with nose clip

Lyrkean Makeon as the Masked Man

Konstantin Feldman as Student agitator

Beatrice Vitoldi as Woman with baby carriage

Production

On the 20th anniversary of the first Russian Revolution , commemorative Commission of the Central Executive Committee decided to stage a performance of 1905 in the spectacular events of 1905. In addition, as part of the celebrations was suggested to “great film shown in a special program, with an oratory introduction, musical (solo and orchestral) and a dramatic accompaniment based on a specially written text. [4] Nina Agadzhanova was asked to write the script and was assigned to 27-year-old Sergei Eisenstein . [5]

In the original script the film was a highlight of the 1905 revolution: Russo-Japanese War , massacre of the Armenians , revolutionary events in St. Petersburg , Moscow uprising . Filming was presumed to be conducted in the USSR. [6]

Eisenstein hired many non-professional actors for the film; he sought after people who had a specific type instead of famous stars. [7] [6]

Shooting began on March 31, 1925. Sergei began with filming in Leningrad and had time to shoot the railway strike episode, horsecar , city at night and strike strike on Sadovaya Street. Further shooting was prevented by the deterioration weather: permanent fog began. At the same time, the film was set to be finished by the end of the year, the script was approved only at the 4th of June. Objectively Assessing the situation Sergei Eisenstein Decided to give up the original script consistant en eight episodes to focus only on one – the uprising on the battleship “Potemkin” , qui in the all-encompassing scenario of Agadzhanova Took up only A Few pages (41 frames). Sergei Eisenstein together withGrigori Aleksandrov Essentially recycled and extended the script. [8] In addition to the progress of making of the film, the film is one of two films that have been produced by Agadzhanova’s scenario or by Eisenstein’s scenic sketches. As a result, the content of the film was very far from the original script by Agadzhanova.

The film was shot in a film that was made to find a suitable boat for shooting.

The first screening of the film took place December 21, 1925 at the ceremonial meeting dedicated to the anniversary of the 1905 revolution in the Bolshoi Theater . [9] [10]

The first took place in Moscow on January 18, 1926 in the 1st Goskinoteatre (now called the Khudozhestvenny ). [11] [12]

The silent film received a voice dubbing in 1930 (during the life of director Sergei Eisenstein), restored in 1950 (compose Nikolai Kryukov) and reissued in 1976 (compose Dmitri Shostakovich) at Mosfilm with the participation of the USSR State Film Fund and the Museum of SM Eisenstein under the direction of Sergei Yutkevich .

In 1925, Phil Jutzi , “Battleship Potemkin” was released in the world in a different version of the author’s intention: the shooting of sailors was moved to the end of the movie. Later, the words Leon Trotsky in the prologue were replaced with a quote from Lenin . [12] In 2005, under the overall guidance of the Deutsche Kinemathek Foundation , with the participation of the State Film Fund and the Russian State Archive of Literature and Art , the author’s version of the film was restored with the music byEdmund Meisel . [13]

Battleship “Kniaz Potemkin Tarritcheski” later renamed “Panteleimon” then “Boretz Za Svobodu”, was derelict and being scrapped at the time of the film shoot. It is usually cited that the battleship “Twelve Apostles” was used instead, but this was a very different design from Potemkin and film footage matches the Battleship Rostislav more closely. That had been scuttled in 1920 but the superstructure remained complete until 1930. Interior scenes were filmed on the cruiser “Komintern” . Stock Footage of Potemkin Class Ships is used to show off the French fleet.

In the film the rebels raise the flag on the battleship but the Orthochromatic B / W movie red flag look black flag was used instead. This was handtinted for 108 frames by Eisenstein himself for the premiere at the Grand Theater, which was greeted with thunderous applause by the Bolshevik audience. [12]

Film style and content

The film is composed of five episodes:

“Men and Maggots” (Люди и черви), in which the sailors protest at having to eat rotten meat;

“Drama on the Deck” (Драма на тендре), in which the sailors mutiny and their leader, Vakulinchuk, is killed;

“A Dead Man Calls for Justice” (Мёртвый взывает) in which Vakulinchuk’s body is mourned over by the people of Odessa ;

“One against all” (Встреча с эскадрой), in which the squadron is tasked with intercepting the Potemkin instead of engaging; lowering their guns, its sailors cheer on the rebellious battleship and join the mutiny.

Eisenstein wrote the film as a revolutionary propaganda film, [15] [16] but also used it to test his theories of editing . [17] The Revolutionary Soviet filmmakers of the Kuleshov school of filmmaking were experimenting with the effect of film editing and hearing, and the audience was more likely to produce the film. for the rebellious sailors of the Potemkin Battleship and hatred for their overlords. In the manner of most propaganda, the characterization is simple, so that the audience could clearly sympathize.

Eisenstein’s experiment was a mixed success; he “was disappointed when Potemkin failed to attract masses of viewers”, [18] but the film was also released in an international audience, where audiences responded positively. In both the Soviet Union and Overseas, the film shocked hearings, but not so much for its political statements as for its use of violence, which was considered to be graphic by the standards of the time. [1] [19] [20] The film’s potential to influence political thought by Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels , who called Potemkin“a marvelous movie without equal in the cinema … anyone who had no firm political conviction could become a Bolshevik after seeing the movie”. [20] [21] He was interested in getting Germans to make a similar film. Eisenstein did not like the idea and wrote an indignant letter to Goebbels in which he stated that National Socialistic Realism did not have either truth or reality. [22] The film was not banned in Nazi Germany , although Himmler issued a directive prohibiting SS members from attending screenings, as he deemed the movie inappropriate for the troops. [20]The film was eventually banned in some countries, including being banned at various times in both the United States and France, as well as in its native Soviet Union. The film was banned in the United Kingdom longer than any other film in British history. [23]

The Odessa Steps sequence

One of the most famous scenes in the film is the massacre of civilians on the Odessa Steps (also known as the Primorsky or Potemkin Stairs ). This sequence has been assessed as a “classic” [24] and one of the most influential in the history of cinema. [25] [26] In the scene, the Tsar’s soldiers in their white-footed boots seemingly endlessly fly into a rhythmic, machine-like fashion, firing volleys into a crowd. A separate detachment of mounted Cossacks charges the crowd at the bottom of the stairs. The victims include an older woman wearing nose clipyoung boy with his mother, a student in uniform and a teenage schoolgirl. A mother pushing an infant in a baby carriage falls to the ground dying and the carriage rolls down the steps amidst the fleeing crowd.

The slaughter on the steps, ALTHOUGH it never Actually eu lieu, [27] Was based on the fact That There Were Widespread demonstrations in the area, Sparked off by the arrival of the Potemkin in Odessa Harbor, and Both The Times and the resident British Consul reported that troops fired on the crowds; deaths have been reportedly in the hundreds. [28] Roger Ebertwrites, “That there was, in fact, no tsarist massacre on the Odessa Steps scarcely diminishes the power of the scene … It is ironic that [Eisenstein] did it so today, the bloodshed on the Odessa steps is often referred to as if it really happened. ” [29]

The Irish-born painter Francis Bacon (1909-1992) was deeply influenced by Eisenstein’s images, particularly the Odessa Steps shot of the nurse’s broken glasses and open mouthed scream. The open mouth image appeared first in his Abstraction from the Human Form , in Fragment of a Crucifixion , and other works including his famous Head series. [32]

The Russian-born photographer and artist Alexey Titarenko was inspired by and paid tribute to the Odessa Steps sequence in his series “City Of Shadows” (1991-1993), shot near the subway station in Saint Petersburg . [33]

Distribution, censorship and restoration

After the first screening the film was not distributed in the Soviet Union and there was a danger that it would be lost among other productions. Poet Vladimir Mayakovsky intervened because of his good friend, poet Nikolai Aseevparticipated in the making of the film’s intertitles. Mayakovsky’s opposition party was Sovkino’s president Konstantin Shvedchikov. He was a politician and friend of Vladimir Lenin who once hid Lenin in his home before the Revolution. He had a primitive taste in film and was an anti Semite who disliked Eisenstein for his Jewish background. Mayakovsky presented Shvedchikov with a hard demand that the film would be distributed abroad and intimidated Shvedchikov with the fate of becoming a villain in history books. Mayakovsky’s closing sentence was “Shvedchikovs come and go, but art remains, Remember that!” Besides Mayakovsky many others also persuaded Shvedchikov to spread the film around the world and after constant pressure from Sovkino he eventually felt the film in Berlin. There Battleship Potemkinbecame a huge success, and the film was again screened in Moscow. [6]

When Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford visited Moscow in July 1926, they were full of praise regarding Battleship Potemkin and Fairbanks helped distribute the film in the United States and even to Eisenstein to go to Hollywood. In the United States the film premiered in New York on the 5th of December 1926 at the Biltmore Theater . [34] [35]

It was shown in an edited form in Germany, with some scenes of extreme violence edited by German distributors. A written introduction by Trotsky was cut from Soviet prints after he ran afoul of Stalin . The film was banned in the United Kingdom [36] [37] (until 1954 and X-rated [38] [39] until 1978), France, and other countries for its revolutionary zeal.

Today the film is widely available in various DVD editions. In 2004, a three-year restoration of the film was completed. Many excised scenes of violence were restored, introduced by Trotsky. The previous titles, which had been reduced to the mutinous sailors’ revolutionary rhetoric, were corrected so that they would be able to read the Russian titles.

Soundtracks

To retain its relevance as a propaganda film, Eisenstein would like to be rewritten every 20 years. The original score was composed by Edmund Meisel . A salon orchestra performed the Berlin premiere in 1926. The instruments were flute / piccolo, trumpet, trombone, harmonium, percussion and strings without viola. Meisel wrote the score in twelve days because of the late approval of film censors. As time was so short Meisel repeated sections of the score. Composer / conductor Mark-Andreas Schlingensiepen has reorchestrated the original piano score to fit the version of the film available today.

Nikolai Kryukov composed a new score in 1950 for the 25th anniversary. In 1985, Chris Jarrett composed a solo piano accompaniment for the movie. In 1986 Eric Allaman wrote an electronic score for a show that took place at the 1986 Berlin International Film Festival . The music was commissioned by the organizers, who wanted to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the film’s German premiere. The score was played on this CD and DVD. Contemporary reviews were a lot of positive things because of the music was electronic. Allaman also wrote an opera about Battleship Potemkin, which is a movie score.

In symphonies from Dmitry Shostakovich, published in 1975. Three symphonies from Dmitry Shostakovich have been used, with No. 5 , beginning and ending the film, the most prominent.

In 2007, Del Rey and The Sun Kings also recorded this soundtrack. In an attempt to make the movie falling to the 21st century, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe (of the Pet Shop Boys ) Composed a soundtrack in 2004 with the Dresden Symphonic Orchestra . Their soundtrack, released in 2005 as Battleship Potemkin , premiered in September 2004 at an open-air concert in Trafalgar Square , London. There were four further performances of the work with the Dresdner Sinfoniker in Germany in September 2005 and one at the Swan Hunter ship yard in Newcastle upon Tyne in 2006.

The avant-garde jazz ensemble Club Foot Orchestra has also re-scored the film, and performed live accompanying the film. For the 2005 restoration of the film, under the direction of Enno Patalas in collaboration with Anna Bohn, released on DVD and Blu-ray, the Deutsche Kinemathek- Museum fur Film und Fernsehen, commissioned a re-recording of the original Edmund Meisel score, performed by the Babelsberg Orchestra, conducted by Helmut Imig. In 2011 the most recent restoration was completed with an entirely new soundtrack by members of the Apskaft group. Contributing members were AER20-200, Ditzky, Drn Drn, Foucault V, fydhws, Hox Vox, Lurholm, mexicanvader, Quendus, Res Band, -Soundso- and speculativism. The whole film was digitally restored to a sharper image by Missero Gianluca (who records under the name Hox Vox). The new version is available at the Internet Archive . [40]

A new score for Battleship Potemkin was composed in 2011 by Michael Nyman and is performed by the Michael Nyman Band. The Berklee Silent Film Orchestra also composed a new score for the film in 2011, and performed it live at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, in Washington, DC A new electroacoustic score by the collective composers Edison Studio was first performed live in Naples at Cinema Astra for Scarlatti Contemporanea Festival on 25 October 2017 [41] and published on DVD [42] in 5.1 surround sound by Cineteca di Bologna in “The Immagine Ritrovata” series, along with a second audio track with a recording of the Meisel ‘s score conducted by Helmut Imig.

Critical reaction

Battleship Potemkin has received universal acclaim from modern critics. On review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes , the movie holds an overall 100% “Certified Fresh” approval rating based on 44 reviews, with a rating average of 9.1 out of 10. The website’s consensus reads, “A technical masterpiece, Battleship Potemkin is Soviet cinema at its finest, and its editing editing techniques remain influential to this day. ” [43] Since its release, Potemkin Battleship has often been cited as one of the finest propaganda films ever made and considered among the greatest films of all time. [1] [44] The movie Was named the greatest movie of all time at theBrussels World’s Fair in 1958. [2] Similarly, in 1952, Sight & Sound magazine cited The Battleship Potemkin as the fourth greatest film of all time and has been voted in the top ten in the magazine’s subsequent five decennial polls, dropping to number 11 in the 2012 poll. [45]

In 2007, a two-disc, restored version of the film was released on DVD. Time magazine’s Richard Corliss named it one of the Top 10 DVDs of the year, ranking it at # 5. [46] It Official # 3 in Empire ‘ s “The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema” in 2010. [47] In April 2011, Battleship Potemkin Was re-released in UK cinemas, distributed by the British Film Institute . On its re-release, Total Film magazine gave the film a five-star review, stating: “… nearly 90 years on, Eisenstein’s masterpiece is still guaranteed to get the pulse racing.” [48]

Director Billy Wilder has named Battleship Potemkin as his favorite movie of all time.

The Corazzata Kotiomkin

In Italy this film is very famous because it appears in the comedy film Il secondo tragico Fantozzi as “Sergej Einstein” (a play on “Sergej Eisenstein” and ” Albert Einstein “) ‘s The Kotiomkin corazzata (“The dreadnought Kotiomkin “), That was very boring movie Ugo Fantozzi and his colleagues are forced to watch Many times of Their managers Because one is an enthusiast of this film.

See also

List of movies considered the best

List of movies with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes , a movie review aggregator website

Jump up^ “Battleship Potemkin” . Archived from the original on 22 November 2010 . Retrieved 25 August 2015 .

Jump up^ Potemkin Battleshipfrom Encyclopædia Britannica

Jump up^ “What Eisenstein created was the action sequence, which is absolutely vital to any modern movie. … Eisenstein’s editing techniques have been used in any movie made of any type of action sequence at all.” from “20 Influential Silent Movies Every Movie Buff Should See” by Dylan Rambow,Taste of Cinema, 25 April 2015